Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers’ issue ‘unites’ and ‘divides’ Bengal parties

Malda/Kolkata: Bitter rivals in Bengal — Left, Congress and Trinamool — were on the same boat on Tuesday swearing at the Centre’s “anti-farmer” laws. Trinamool senior Subrata Mukherjee held this was one issue in which BJP stood “isolated” in the country. While Left Front chairman Biman Bose and CPI(M-L) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya walked the protest march in support of the Bharat bandh on Tuesday, chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced at Raniganj that she was holding the administrative meeting after the bandh was over. Congress and Left supporters downed shutters at places, blocked highways and railway tracks in Jadavpur, Belgharia, New Barrackpore, Doltala More in North 24 Parganas, Nimtouri in Purba Midnapore and other points with the state administration taking a lenient stance towards bandh supporters. But the farmer issue soon became a part of the poll campaign matrix with both Left and Congress leaders hitting out at both BJP and Trinamool for the plight of peasants in Bengal. “Mamata Banerjee has no right to oppose the Centre’s farm laws. She was silent while the bills were pushed through in Parliament. It was the Congress that first flagged its dissent. Mamata has jumped into the fray when the agitation is spreading in the country,” Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Chowdhury said at a huge gathering in Malda on Tuesday. Chowdhury also ticked off the Mamata Banerjee government for the rising potato and onion prices. “The Bengal government could have taken the legislative route like Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh did,” he said. CPM labour front Citu state secretary Anadi Sahu hit out at TMC over its “flip-flop”. “The state administration cracked down on Left supporters when they gave an all-India strike call on November 26 in support of the agitating farmers. Now, the Trinamool chief is desperate to join the stir,” he said.

The Times of India

2020-12-09

Kolkata